Returning to our stage, Vancouver-based Just Duets is Andrea Smith and Dave Lidstone in a musical collaboration of wonderful sibling-like vocal harmonies with solid guitar accompaniment. Their early influences included masterful duets such as Ian & Sylvia Tyson, Tim & Molly O’Brien, and Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings. Over time Andrea and Dave have developed their own vocal blend and a repertoire that is more broadly researched. Their 2016 CD release “Rivers & Creeks” followed a 2007 release called “Get On Board”. Both these projects reflect their choice of material consisting of songs of Life and Love that reflect a commitment to social justice, to Canadian roots, and to poetry in song.

Lowell Friesen and Lancen Harms team up to bring you a tasty combination of familial harmonies, sprightly acoustic interplay, and poetic lyrical license. The uncle-and-nephew duo combine a love of whimsy and folklore in their original compositions, held together with arrangements featuring playful acoustic riffs and lonely banjo refrains. Mystery, poetic celebration, and heartbreaking cathartic release are at the heart of their writing, and the joy of playing on stage at the core of their performance. Having fun is obviously what they do best, and live shows are punctuated with tell-all family stories and good natured self-deprecation. Laughter and connection is the focus of every show.

A Celeigh Cardinal performance is a profound, soulful triumph of songs that blend roots, folk, rock, and pop. Her voice at once evokes a gentleness and control which can turn to raucous, gut wrenching, twisted, turn-yourself-inside-out blues within a single phrase. This Spring, Celeigh has been nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award’s Indigenous Artist of the year, a CBC Indigenous Music Award for best pop album, and has also received a whopping eight Edmonton Music Awards nominations for her recently released album, “Everything and Nothing at All”. She will be joined by her guitarist Brayden Treble for a night of incredible music at the VFMS.

Jun. 17: The Ravenhill Ranters

The Ravenhill Ranters are Gillian Wale & Rockland Moran. This recently established “Americana/Roots” duo will wow you with their instrumentation and tight harmonies on original and old-timey tunes.
Gillian began her musical journey as a child, earning a degree with the Royal Conservatory of Music. In recent years, that skill has been put to use in learning ragtime piano. Her latest instrument is the autoharp.
Rockland is a well-seasoned musician who has travelled the scene for several decades. He is a songwriter, slide guitarist, and delta blues buff. After recently fulfilling a lifelong ambition of acquiring a mandola, Rockland realized quickly that it complimented Gillian’s autoharp, and thus the duo was formed.

Upcoming Features:

Previous Folk Club Features

Listed by date, one year of VFMS Feature Acts per webage:2018, 2017, 2016, … 1998, 1997, 1996, … back to1976!(We resolved to have a weekly Coffee House beginning January 1986;
the previous schedule was twice a month, second- and fourth- Sundays).